


Flowers

by v_cat



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Destiel - Freeform, Human AU, M/M, mentions of eating disorders self harm alcoholism and mental illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-07
Updated: 2013-04-07
Packaged: 2017-12-07 17:57:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/751368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/v_cat/pseuds/v_cat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by Destiel Prompt of the Day #31 on Tumblr. "Human!AU- Castiel and Dean meet in group therapy (reasons for therapy are up to writer)", but I didn't play by the rules exactly.</p><p>Anna Milton is doing in-patient care for her mental illness, and her older brother Cas starts catching the eye of Dean Winchester, who works with young men and boys at the institute she's in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flowers

Cas brought flowers that day, because it was Anna’s favorite nurse’s birthday. He picked a sunflower out of the batch for his sister, and was leaving the rest for the currently-at-lunch-nurse at reception when he saw him first. Just a little younger than himself, he guessed, with a world-weary look and piercing green eyes. As a teenage boy caught his attention, Cas saw him plaster a wide, but genuine-seeming, smile on his face. Turning protectively towards the boy, he could tell just from their body language that they were practically whispering as the older man ushered the kid into a room, away from the younger men and teenage boys trickling out of a conference room down the hall. Something tugged at Cas about the interaction and he almost asked the receptionist who the guy was, but Anna was walking towards him with a happy bounce in her step and they went for their authorized weekly romps around the yard at the center. Anna’s voices were quieter than they had been in weeks, and they discussed the bees and flowers and how her new pills seemed to be working well enough for a hope of release soon.

 

\-----------

 

A few days later, Cas was back to discuss Anna’s legibility for an out patient program. He was sitting, watching Gabriel and Uriel joking with their sister while waiting for the new program director to come in from rounds, when he saw him again. Walking down the hall with a stack of files, headed in Cas’ direction. This time, they caught each other’s eyes and stared. Gabriel whistled, looking from Cas and the mystery man, while Uriel shushed him. The guy knocked on the director’s door and Anna offered, “He’s not back yet.”

 

Checking his watch, the green-eyed man said, “He’s always running late. Can you tell him Dean Winchester stopped by and I’ll be back in a bit? I have files I need to go over with him.”

 

Cas swallowed deep as their eyes met again, and he was gone. Gabriel out right giggled and Uriel told him to settle down, yet again. Making moony eyes at Cas, he went back to joking with Anna. Cas almost rolled his eyes at his older brother.

 

_Well, at least he’s not a patient._

 

\---------

 

The Milton family was well liked by the staff. Anna was pretty much the poster child for the mentally ill- taking her pills, going to therapy- and her family- really, just her brothers- were also well liked by the staff. Sometimes Cas expected things to go more wrong than they had, but his oft-bickering older brothers put aside their differences for the family, especially when it came to the baby of the family, Anna. Uriel and Gabriel had practically raised Anna and Cas.

 

The staff came in handy to try to figure out this Dean Winchester character. And did the staff like to gossip about him.

Apparently, he was a womanizer. Really, one of the biggest flirts a lot of the staff had every seen- he mostly brought women home, it seemed, but he flirted with everyone except his clients. That had perked Cas’ interest. Cas was fairly comfortable being single, always had been, but that certainly hadn’t stopped him from his fair share of lovers along the gender spectrum. 

 

Other interesting things about Dean: he and his brother lived together; he had a vintage car that he loved more than anything; he specialized in eating disorders and self-harm, conducting the men’s support groups of both issues; he would often find a reason to sit with in-house patients when telenovelas or Dr. Sexy, M.D. was on; and Mondays he always ate in the cafeteria as it was pie day. 

  
Each little tidbit of information made Cas happy, but it didn’t seem like enough. They were fairly superficial things, only small glances into the man who had somehow captured his attention. He’d see Dean around the institute, watching how his cocky swagger melted into protective mode around his clients or even just people who looked like they were having a bad day. How his serious face lit up for other people and Cas even humored himself that he was starting to tell the difference between a genuine smile and a forced one at this point. Occasionally, they’d catch each others’ eyes and just stare. Cas wanted to jump him the first time Dean licked his lips while looking at him, and Cas was happy that Anna was getting out soon. More so that she could come home again, but he also wasn’t sure how much longer he could take this. 

 

It was Anna, in the end, who introduced them. 

 

She pulled Dean aside under the pretense of showing off the flowers her brother had brought her. Cas was so flustered throughout the quick exchange that he could barely remember it after, besides Dean’s crinkled green eyes, amused at the more-than-obvious matchmaking on Anna’s account. It hadn’t helped that Dean did that whole lip thing several times through the conversation. Cas politely took Dean’s number, and gave his own, but really did not think anything would come of it- could come of it, really. Weren’t there rules about this sort of thing? Sure, Dean wasn’t supervising Anna in any sort of way, but still. Besides, he was sure Dean was probably hit on by every patient and their caregivers in this facility, he didn’t want to be “that guy.”

 

Anna’s favorite nurse pulled him over as he was leaving from that visit.

 

“You know, he’s been asking about you, too,” she said, knowingly. She didn’t even have to say Dean’s name. Cas looked at her, trying to think of what to say. “You should give it a try, Cas. You’re too proper, so this is me pushing you. You spend too much time caring for Anna, not enough on yourself. That’s not a healthy way to live, you have to set an example.” She patted him on his back. “I won’t be here the day Anna’s released, so consider this my goodbye gift: go call that boy or I will tell him your address and have him show up in the ridiculous car of his, unannounced.” She chuckled at his confused look as he walked out the door. 

 

\----------

 

After a few days of staring at the phone, Cas decides it’s probably worth the ego bruise, and the possibility of bothering a completely straight guy, and texts Dean with the first thing that comes to his mind. 

 

_So do all your patients try to hook you up with their older siblings?_

 

 _Unfortunately, few are as cute as you,_ is the text Cas gets back and he can’t tell if he’s more amused or shocked at both the quickness and blatant response. While he’s thinking, he gets a second message. _And, fortunately, Anna isn’t my patient._

 

Cas is calculating the risk now- Anna’a getting out the next day, so even if this went sour it won’t effect her. And Dean is clearly flirting with him, but he flirts with everyone, right? Surely he can’t actually be interested. But Cas can’t stop thinking about Dean’s eyes, the protective stance he has over the younger boys in the program, his open body language when Anna pulled him towards Cas and her.

 

_Are you free Friday?_

 

 _Any time after 7:30. Last group therapy session for the day._ Second text: _And pretentious food makes me bored._

 

Cas laughs over that one. _Presumptuous, much?_

 

_Just putting it out there. There’s a great diner by 2nd and Broadway._

 

_Sounds good. 8?_

 

_Can’t wait._

 

Cas almost feels dizzy after that.

 

\---------

 

Cas is paying attention to Dean, he would swear it, but he’s getting more and more distracted by those lips of his. Swapping silly childhood tales, they start locking eyes the way they had in the halls as the stories grow sadder- they both have similarly absent fathers, dead mothers, and rambunctious siblings. Dean barely knew his half brother growing up, but basically raised his younger brother Sam as their alcoholic and borderline abusive/neglectful father dragged them from military base to military base. Cas shares stories of his brothers raising him and Anna, their father unable to cope with his children and leaving them alone for years at a time. He even talks about how he and Anna would hide her illness when she was younger, but how their brothers had caught on eventually. Dean squeezed his hand as Cas confessed he felt somewhat responsible for how bad it got before it got better, how he should have known better as the older of the two. They’re barely breaking eye contact when it gets to the point where Dean talks about how the stress of his family wore down on him, triggering self-destructive tendencies with food and self-harm and alcohol, and how when Sam finally begged him to get help, he found a therapist who helped him get over a lot that his father had installed in him, and he decided he wanted to help other kids in bad situations. 

 

It’s only when the waitress loudly clears her throat from the counter that they realize it’s past closing time and they’re the only customers left in the diner. Giving her a big tip, they stop on the sidewalk. Looking at Dean’s car right across the street, Cas turns to say goodbye and Dean’s eyes are on his lips. His does that lip thing that melts Cas and leans in to kiss him. It’s almost chaste, but Cas pulls him in, wrapping his arms around Dean’s frame. Rough but warm lips and the day long’s stubble surrounding them respond to Cas’ body and movements, Dean pushing them closer. Cas wants out of his trenchcoat and into Dean’s bed, but he settles for urging the kiss on, parting lips, his hands roaming from on top of Dean’s leather jacket to under his plaid shirt, his cold hand making Dean suddenly tense and pull away.

 

“Why don’t we go back to your place?” Dean says as his breath slowly becomes normal again.

  
Cas shakes his head. “Anna’s staying with me, that might be weird.”

 

“You sure? You think she’d get a kick out of throwing us together so successfully.” Dean chuckles a bit, Cas watching his adam’s apple bob. He wants to cover that neck with kisses and bite it like a teenager later. Dean swallows and Cas’ eyes wander back up, locking with his again.

 

“Sam is probably out with his boring law intern friends. Let’s go back to my place.”

 

As they get into the car, Cas thinks he should get Anna a huge bouquet of sunflowers in the morning.


End file.
